


Doodles and Smoke

by nychus



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: College AU, Gen, Ignoct Writing Weekend, Soulmates, Sunday - Freeform, TA!Ignis, student!Noctis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 14:39:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14896442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nychus/pseuds/nychus
Summary: Ignis finds his soulmate in the most unlikely of places (the class he's TA for!) and in the most unlikely of people (the prince?!)





	Doodles and Smoke

**Author's Note:**

> For IgNoct Writing Weekend 2018
> 
> Prompts hit:  
> AU/Trope: Soulmates  
> Genres: Slice of Life  
> Word Limit: Exactly 1,000 words  
> Place: Galdin Quay  
> Object: Paper

They say that when you meet your soulmate, it’s love at first sight. The problem was no one could explain the difference between love and extreme infatuation at first sight.

It certainly felt different, that first day of class when Ignis walked into the room and noticed him. A mess of dark hair, pale skin, and blue eyes that seemed so easy to drown in. The prince of this country that Ignis now called home. He couldn’t remember if he knew Noctis was attending university or if he knew Noctis was interested in geology.

As students filed into the lecture hall, Ignis could see looks of recognition on others’ faces. Girls were giggling as they sat far away from him. Guys looked to be daring each other to go say hello; no one did until a shock of blonde hair came in and bounced his way to Noctis. The bored, sleepy look that Noctis had on his face was instantly gone as the blonde sat down.

When class started, Dr. Wilson introduced himself and Ignis to the fifty students in the room. Ignis stayed through the syllabus explanation before ducking out to work on his own projects. The first thing he did, however, was to find out when he would be seeing Noctis again; Tuesday afternoon lab was the answer. The first of many doodles of a swirly pattern that would be on the side of his notes came this day.

The first lab Ignis called roll, apologized for getting any names wrong, and asked he be corrected either on pronunciation or preferred name. He had decided that he would not treat the prince any differently and so when his name came up on the roll, he simply said “Noctis Caelum?” looking for the hand to raise.

Seeing the prince as a student made the semester easier. He was amazingly proficient at identifying minerals and rocks but tended to have issues when it came to maps. It worked that the blonde, Prompto, had the opposite problem, so they complimented each other well. Both were kind enough to help fellow students should Ignis not find the right way to rephrase the explanation.

Spring break was a welcomed respite as Ignis found himself at Galdin Quay for the week. Unlike everyone else at the beach, Ignis wasn’t there to party, but to research. He had slowly been working his way from Insomnia towards the coast to examine the elemental crystals associated with havens. His dissertation was trying to work out how the crystals worked, where they got their magic, and how did they recharge themselves. It helped that he was naturally attuned to magic, meaning that he could draw from the crystals and measure how much he could pull out and how fast they recharged.

It was the Tuesday of break; Ignis was sitting with his back against the haven, looking towards the fire crystals. He had just pulled out the magic and was taking notes on how much he got when he was startled by someone saying his name.

Looking up, he was surprised to see Noctis looking at him.

“Hey,” Noctis said with a shy smile, “I thought it was you I saw. What are you doing?”

“Research,” Ignis answered. “Trying to figure out the interconnectedness of the element crystals.”

“Oh?”

“It’s all very preliminary, but it seems they stem from the Meteor and I believe some share a source with other havens.”

“Cool,” Noctis said. “You can draw the magic out—wait, are you the reason there seems to be a never-ending supply of magic for me to spellcraft?”

With a nervous laugh, Ignis said, “I suppose. I send the flasks to the Citadel after I’ve finished with them. It was part of the deal made that allows me to do the study. Not everyone was keen to allow a foreign commoner to study Lucian magic, but Dr. Wilson and my uncle worked hard to convince the council.”

“Stupeo Scientia is your uncle, right?” Noctis asked to Ignis’s surprise, but he nodded. The prince gave him a sheepish grin, “I recognized your name after the first day of class and had to figure out from where.”

They spoke for a little longer, Noctis asking if Ignis would ever head to the resort and Ignis saying it wasn’t really his idea of fun. He was surprised when Noctis agreed but then found out Prompto was also around, taking pictures and enjoying himself. Noctis was happy to be there for his friend. When he left, it seemed like there was something more he wanted to say but didn’t. Instead he waved goodbye and said he’d see Ignis in class next week.

After he watched Noctis disappear into the crowd of spring-breakers, Ignis looked back at his notes, but something caught his eye. In the sand where Noctis had been standing was a line of smoke that would have connected the prince to the crystals and a second line that broke off towards Ignis. As he documented the pattern, he realized it was the same one he’d been doodling absentmindedly all semester. 

Confusion didn’t begin to touch on what Ignis was feeling.

The semester ended with a final lab exam. Ignis took each exam with a thank you and a “have a nice summer” as one by one his students filed out. They had been a good class, not his best but far from the worst, and he was sad to see them go.

Especially Noctis, who was one of the last to leave. They shared a smile as Ignis took the test and then he was gone. Out of the classroom and likely out of Ignis’s life for good.

Or so Ignis thought until he saw a piece of paper drop from the exam. On it was the prince’s personal number and a design that matched the doodles and smoke lines from Galdin. Next to it just said “Dinner?” and Ignis knew that Noctis had felt it too, whatever _**it**_ was.

**Author's Note:**

> Wilson, my go-to geology professor name because "Wilson Cycle." Sure, I could pick any number of famous geologists (or geologist-like people, Wagner tends to be my second choice), but I go with guy who I know nothing about other than coming up with idea of breaking up and coming together of continents.


End file.
